Method of baling



Sept. 1, 1942. E, v, BARKER 2,294,440

METHOD OF BALING Original Filed Nov. 2, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ERos V.Banken b Mw-L;

H ttor ruga l SePt- 1, 1942- E. v. BARKER 2,294,440

METHOD OF BALING Original Filed Nov. 2, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 O 8 v NS\` 4 E 4a Q E j Q m m N N q. :r: E

l\ NS a @n *ab N. IT v Im/uor Li L Enos V. BARKER Sept 1 1942- E. v.BARKER 2,294,440

METHOD 0F BALING Original Filed Nov. 2, 1939 4 sheets-sheet s o `3= SI'V w N ,0 6 a s g," rl *C mika/ii;

f@ h( a 0" Si Inventor Enos V. BARMER bil@ Alkornys sept. 1," 1942.

E. v.V BARKER METHOD oF 'BALING original Filed Nov. 2, 195s 4Sheets-Sheet 4 lvn/hior 905 V. BRRKER b ML@ A Harn Lys Patented Sept. 1,1942v METHOD or BALING Eros V. Barker, Bellevue, Ohio, assigner to TheOhio CultlvatorCompany, Bellevue, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Original application November 2, 1939, Serial No.302,579. Divided and this application June 19, 1940, Serial No. 341,223

This in a. divisionof application No. 302,579,

- led November 2, 1939.

This invention relates to a baler, and more particularly to a balerwhich is adapted to pick up the hay or other material directly from theground as the baler is drawn along. It is an object of my invention todevise a pick-up baler which is of simplified construction and which issmaller in dimensions so that it is more easily handled in the field andis stored in a smaller space; and at the same time, the improved balerof my invention is lighter in weight than pickup balers heretoforeemployed and. in addition,

consumes less power by reason of the eliminay tion of the operation oflifting the hay up to the top of the baler. I

Another object of my invention is to devise .a :pick-up .baler having aside feed, the feeding device feeding the hay or like material into thelsideA of the present chamber rather than 'into the top thereof as hasbeen common heretofore. The feeding of the baler from the-side isadvantageous in that it assures a more uniform .bale on the top andbottom and in that'it simplifies the construction of the machine,thereby rendering it lighter and more economical to build and at thesame time saves the -power required to lift the hay Ain order to feed itfrom the top.

It is a further object to provide a side loader which eliminates thelong inclined loading platform which has heretofore been used in the artwith more or less unsuccessful results. By eliminating the inclinedelevating conveyor of the prior art, it is possible .with the instantinvention to fold the side loader into a compact position by elevatingit on a hinge at the side of the machine at one end of the sideloader'into a vertical position.

to the forward stroke of the plunger; this is accomplished by the use ofa special linkage for moving the pressing plunger which linkage isdesigned to give improved results.

Another object is to devise a side-fed pressing chamber which is.provided with shearing blades on its side for cutting off the hayquickly and accurately as the plunger head passes by the forward edge ofthe feed opening of the feeding chamber. 'v

It is an object of this invention to provide a side feed shearingmechanism operating with a compression plunger so that the materialbeing fed in through the side of the chamber is accurately sheared,eliminating the necessity of repeated packings of the hay in the chamberbefore the spacer block canbe dropped.

Stillv another object is to eliminate the feed arm which has been usedon balers heretofore devised, thereby simplifying the construction andlowering the cost of repairs. l

Another object is to provide a fully automatic feeder for feeding thebaler, thereby eliminating the necessity of having a man tend to thefeeding and lowering the labor cost of operating the machine.

Another object is to devise an automatic division block dropper whichplaces the block in the baler and which overcomes the necessity forlosing three or four strokes of the plunger before the block can bedropped; in this way, the production of the machine is increasedconsiderably.

A further object of the invention is to provide in association withthis-mechanism means for controlling the dropping lof the block :whichis actuated by the amount of hay that is being Apressed into thecompression chamber so that When a sufficient amount of hay has beencompressed and loaded into the compression chamber, this device willhave been actuated sufficientlight lweight strips on to a tnansversefeeding,A

fplatfonm that easily feeds lthe hay towards shearing position where itis sheared in accurate increments prior to being moved into thecompression chamber i y the plunger.

Another objectl is to devise a baler wherein the compressing plunger isadvanced relatively slowly and is retracted at relatively high speed, itbeing allowed to dwell at substantially its retracted position for aconsiderable period of time a greater charge of hay or the likepreparatory so as to allow the feeding mechanism to feed in ly to bringabout a release of the spacer block. And furthermore, this isaccomplished by synchronizin-g with the plunger packing the hay into thecompression chamber, so that the block will drop into position when theplunger is withdrawn.

It is a further object to provide adjustable contact blades on themechanism for controlling the dropping of the spacer block so thatavarying amount of hay can be compressed in the compression chamber tovary the size of the bale.

Another object is to devise va baler in which the feeding mechanism isautomatically slowed up in speed as the plunger begins its forwardstroke and speeded up while the plunger is dwelling at the rear of itsstroke; this is accomplished without completely stopping either theplunger or the feeding mechanism so that the operation is continuous andthe necessity for overcoming the inertia of stopped parts is avoided.

Still other objects will more fully hereinafter appear,

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing the generalarrangement of the machine; in this figure, certain of the parts havebeen separated from their actual position in order to make the showingmore clear.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the baler.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken through a portion of thefeed chamber and the adjacent portion of the pressing chamber.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view showing a portion ofthe side feeding mechanism for feeding the hay into the press chamber.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section similar to Figure 3, showing amodification of baling chamber.

General arrangement 'I'he baler illustrated in the drawings is of thetype adapted to be drawn along the windrow in the eld by a tractor orother suitable draft source. However, the baler is adapted forstationary use as well. The baler mechanism is operated by a power unitpreferably carried on the baler frame itself and which may take the formof an internal combustion engine. The power unit drives both the feedingmechanism and the baling mechanism. The pick-up andy feeding mechanismare carried at the side of the machine as a foidable element adapted tobe folded up into substantially a vertical position for transportatlonor the like. The 'pick-up elements transfer the hay to a relatively lowfeeding table upon which are operated suitable conveyor means whichconvey the hay deposited thereon into the side opening of thelongitudinally disposed bale'r mechanism when the plunger of the baleris lully retracted.

with the movement of the pressing plunger, being fast while the plungeris dwelling near theI rear ena orits stroke and being s.owed upmaterially `as the plunger comes forward in a pressing operation..':iuitable overhead auxiliary feeding mechanism may be provided abovethe feeding table for beating the hay downwardly and forwaldiy into thepressing chamber.

'l'ne baler itseli comprises a longitudinally disposed pressing chamberin which reciprocates a pressing plunger provided with shearing meanscooperating with stationary shearing means to make a clean cut of thehay at each forward stroke of the plunger whereby the insertion of thedivision block is not interfered with. The pressing chamber isconstricted at its extreme outer end by suitable means and the bales arepressed rearwardly of the machine, each bale as it is formed serving asan abutment for the for- 4The speed of operation of the feeding deviceis controlled .in accordance 1 not project inwardly of the bull gearsmation of a succeeding bale and being there- Referring to the drawingsin detail, reference numeral I0 denotes an internal combustion powerunit carried at the forward end of the machine as on longitudinal framemembers Il and driving a drive pulley I2. A clutch operated by handle I3may be interposed between engine I0 and drive pulley I2 if desired.vDrive pulley I2 is adapted to drive pulley I4 by means of the multipleV-belts I5. transverse shaft I6 provided with a flywheel I1 and alsoprovided with a pinion I8 enmeshing with a relatively large toothedpinion I9 on transverse shaft 20. Upon shaft 20 are mounted two pinions2I of relatively small size which are enmeshed with the spaced bullgears 22 which are rotatably mounted in any suitable manner with Yrespect to side frame members 23. as by means of stubshafts 24 and 25which are fixedly attached to their respective bull gears 22 and whichserve to drive mechanism more fully described below. These stubshafts 24and 25 do 22 so that the space between gears 22 is free for a purposewhich will presently appear. l

The press generally is designated by the reference numeral 26 andextends rearwardly of the machine from the driving end thereof, beingsupported upon the machine in any suitable manner. The press comprises arectangular boxlike device having a substantially closed top 21 andbottom 26, and having side members 29 which leave the sides pen foraccess by the workmen forw the insertion of the tying wires. isdesignated generally as 36 and is adapted to be moved to and fro in theforward end of the press 26 by means of the bull gears 22. The plunger39 is shaped to approximately conform to the inner cross section of thepress 26 and is provided with a rearwardly extending central ear 3|which is preferably integral with the one piece plunger head32 which may-desirably be of cast iron. Pitman 33 is pivoted to the ear 3| by meansof pivot bolt 34 and is pivoted to one end of a toggle link 35 as at 36.Member 3 5 is provided with a stationary pivot point 31 about which itis free to rotate. A second pitman member 38'isl disposed between bullgears 22 and toggle link 35, being pivoted to bull gears 22 through theintermediary of a. T-shaped member 4I having a crank pin 39 and beingpivoted to toggle link 35 at 4U which is adjacent pivot point 36 but isdisposed along toggle link 35 in a direction towards pivot point 31 andis also disposed slightly outwardly of the center line between pivotpoints 36 and 31 in a direction towards bull gears 22.

As a result of the linkage interposed between bull gears 22 and pressplunger 30, press plunger 30 is caused to be moved in a particularlyadvantageous manner. The angular movement of crank pin 39 with respectto bull gears 22 will, of course. be uniform but this movement istransmitted to press plunger 30 in such`a manner that press plunger 36is slowly advanced but is very rapidly retracted, thereby allowing amaximum period of time for the charging of the space ahead of the pressplunger. In addition, the press plunger will substantially dwell at therearmost portion of its stroke for a considerable period of time andthis dwell coupled with the maximum amount of slow forward movement ofthe plunger allows a hay to be inserted for each stroke of thel plungePulley I4 is mounted on a` Thel press plunger justable wheels 42.

Feeder and.piclcup and drives therefor The feeder and pick-up assembliesare carried at the right hand side of the machine, their outer end beingsupported by means of vertically ad- The pick-up mechanism is disposedat the forward end of the assembly and comprises a transversely disposedshaft 46 upon which is fixedly mounted a rotatable reel 41 providedvwithend members 49 which are xedly vattached to shaft 46. Between the endsof the end members 49 are disposed rotatable pipe shafts 48 upon whichare xedly mounted spring pick-up teeth 58. Preferably, these teeth 58are formed in pairs, each pair being formed from a single piece ofspring wire which is coiled around shaft 48 for a revolution and is thencoiled in a reverse direction for a second revolution, the middle be;ing fixedly attached to shaft 48 in any suitable manner. The pick-upteeth are adapted to drop below the feed table 54 upon approaching thesame. The coil spring providing means to permit the springing of theteeth or .mechanical means can be provided to accomplish this motion,thus allowing the teeth 58 to be pulled downwardly out of hay picked upfrom the ground.

The pick-up device transfers the hay onto a transversely disposed feedtable 54 which is provided with a rear wall 55, an end wall 56 and abottom 51. The transfer from the pick-up reel to the feed table iseffected by the aid lof fiat sheet-like bent members 58 lying betweenadjacent spring teeth 58 and whichare connected in suitable manner tothefront edge of the bottom plate 51 of the feed table.

.For carryingY the hay deposited on the feed table into the feed openingof the press chamthrough slots 15 formed between lcurved sheetmetalguiding plates 16 `which are secured at their ends 11 to the leftl'iandupper edge of the feed opening into the baling chamber and aresecured `at their opposite ends 18 in any suitable manner above thefeeder, thus forming a curved throat for guiding the hay into the balingchamber.

Mounted on the rear end of shaft 68 is a pulley 19 which drives a. belt88, in turn driving a pulley 8l xedly mounted on the end of a shaft 82upon which is xedly mounted 4a -reel of 'wooden paddles 83 (Figure 4),shaft 82 being journaled in .any suitable manner as by means of fixedsupporting arms 84, thus reel 83 is rotated in a counter-clockwisedirection as viewed in Figure 4 during the feeding operation and.

that the conveyor -chains 59 may carry it into,

'thepress without diiiiculty.

Arranged below the throat forming portion of "sheet guiding member `1liareguiding members 85 disposed over the inward ends of the sprocket ber,a series of feed chains 59 having upwardly projecting feed teeth 68 areprovided lengthwise of the feed table 54. Thesefeed chains 59 move yAtowards the baling chamber and are mounted around feeding sprockets 6Iiixedly attachedvtov Y a feeding shaft 62, which rotates in a clockwisedirection, the outward ends of these .chains 59 being mounted aroundouter idling sprockets 63 which may be journaled with respect to thefeeding and pick-up member in any suitable manner,

Feeding shaft 62 is likewise journaled below thefloor plate 51 of thefeeding device, and on its forward end there is iixedly attached a gear65v driven by a gear 65a fixedly attached to asprocket 65h encircled bya sprocket chain 66 also encircling an upper sprocket 61 mounted on arotatable crank shaft 68. Shaft 68 also drives the upper tampingmechanism and the pressing reel. The tamping mechanism comprises a pairof arms 69 (Figures 1 and 4) disposed adjacent the mouth of the balingchamber and provided with spring teeth 18 for engaging the hay. Shaft 68is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction when viewed as in Figure 4and is provided with two crank portions 1| disposed opposite one,another. Arms 69 are journaled about these crank portions 1l and arepivoted at 12 to link members 13 which are pivoted at 14 to a'stationary portion of the mechanism, namely the feed chains 59 (Figure4) and these are open at their outward end and closed at their inner endso as to allow the hay to beremoved from the conveyor chains 59 at thethroat portion referred to above. Thus hay is prevented from beingcarried downwardly by the feeding teeth 68 on chains 59 at the inwardvend of the conveyor mechanism.

Thus, it will'be seen that the materialis fed directly into'the side ofthe press and that the pick-up attachment lifts the hay' only to thelevel of the floor plate 51 of the feeding mechanism,

rather than upv to the top` of the press as on the conventional machine.

The pick-up attachment is driven by a sprocket 86 xedly mounted on thestubshaft 25 of the left hand bull'gear 22, sprocket 86 driving a'sprocket 81 xedly mounted on the pick-up.

shaft 46 through the intermediary of sprocket chain 88 which encirclessprockets 86 and 81.

Thus the pickup device is driven at a constantv Y gear 89 being fixedlymounted on shaft 25 and elliptical gear 98 being vmounted on anauxiliary shaft 9| on which is iixedly mounted a sprocket 9 2 whichdrives a sprocket 93 through sprocket chain 94, sprocket 93 drivingshaft 68 by' means of bevel gears- 95 and 96, of which bevel gear 96 isfixedly mounted on shaft 68.

Elliptical feeding gears89 and 98 are so timed 'with respect to theangular timing of crank pin 39 of the bull gears 22 that the feedingforks 18,' the pressing reel A83, and the conveyor chains 59 of thepick-up attachment are speeded up each .time the press-plunger 38 isaway from the feed right hand edge of the top plate 21 of the baling Y lpress chamber. Thus, as shaft 68 is rotated. in'

opening Aof the press and are slowed down when the plunger 38 is acrossthe feed opening o'f the press. The coupling of the two effects of thechanging speed of operation of the feeding attachment and of the rapidretraction, long dwell in retracted position, and slow forward travel ofthe press plunger 38 cooperate with one another to make an unusually.effective baler which is capable of very great production. While indiagrammatic view of Figure/1, the pick-up and feeding attachment isshown separated from the baling mechanism for the purposes of clarity,it will be understood that the bottom plate 5.1 of

.forced by truss members l adapted to be rotated by The length of thebale is communicates with an knife blade 91. 'The the feeding device andthe bottom plate 23 of baler are -on the same horizontal level. I

Inorder to make a clean bale and to prevent strands of hay fromprojecting across the feed opening of the press 20 as the plunger 30 isretracted, a pair of shearing knives are provided onthe side of thepress opening. These knives comprise a ,stationary shearing blade-31Lflxedly the , ing through oneside ofl trough member II'S.

mounted at the extreme forward edge of the feed plunger strokes in'order to clear the bale before dropping the ldivision block. Plunger 30comprises four rearwardly extending tail members 0! (Figure 3) which areadapted to guide the plunger in its travel in the press chamber, and aleft hand side plate |00 which is adapted to close the feed opening asthe plunger movesforw'ard in its pressingstroke.' The plunger 30 is alsoreindisposed in any suitable manner in its tail section. Fixedly orintegrally extending' from plunger head 32 are a lpair of ears |02 whichpivotally carry a roller |03 which is disposed on the opposite side ofthe plunge;- from' knife 93. A roller guide |04 is fixedly mounted atitsl rear end as at |05 to the right hand side of the press chamber, itsforward end being provided with an extension |00 adapted to be engagedby roller |03 and to thus resiliently press knife blade 98 intoeffective shearing engagement with stationary knife 91, roller guide |04being yieldable outwardly to a slight extent to provide the desiredshearing action. The for- .End |21 is provided with -an These rods ||0remain in place while the bale is being built up and when the bale-hasbeen built up, wheel will have rotated until pin ||4 will have trippedarm |20. The tripping mechanism comprising the wheel and the arm |20will permit release of the pin |23 from the locking portion :|24 of arm,thus allowing pin |23 and arm |25 upon which pin |23 is iixedly mountedand to which slide rods ||9 are ilxedly attached to move forwardly.' Arm|25 is ilxedly mounted-on a crank member |20 which has a crank end |21adapted to be moved forwardly by-reason of its operative interpositionbetween ay pair of coil springs |28 which are' mounted between twomembers |29 and |30 upon an operating rod |3|.

ear 45 slidably encirclingrod |3|, springs`|20 abutting against ear 45.Rod |3| is reciprocated continuously during operation o f the device byreason of its pivoted l attachment to a crank member |32 (Figure 1)which is fixedly mounted on stubsha'ft 24 of the' 1 right hand bull gear22. Y v

ward end 'of roller guide |04 is adapted to be adjusted inwardly oroutwardly by means of a ilat member |01 carried on a fixed bolt |03provided with adjusting nuts |00 and with a spring ||0 engaging Ya fixedportion of the press and v.adapted to urge member |01 outwardly. In thisway the roller guide |04 can be adjusted transversely to keep the shearblades 93 and l1 operating at the proper clearance.

`Automatic block dropping device The automatic block droppingdevicecomprises a circular serrated wheel |I| which projects downwardlythrough a slot ||2 in the top 21 of the baling compartment. 'I'his wheelcomprises a plurality of radially adiustable serrated "segments and isadapted to carry a pin ||4 which projects from the wheel and v,which isadapted to trip the block dropping device in a m-anner which willpresently appear. serrated wheel is 'ment of the hay within the b`alingchamber 20. l gauged by the circular ,wheel and this wheel is madeadjustable in diameter so that the length of the bale may be adjusted asdesired. The division block ||5 is placed manually ina trough ||6 formedon the top of the press chamber` and reclines therein slightlyrearwardly against a supporting member 1. Trough H0 opening ||0 in thetop of the press chamber, this opening H8 being adapted to allow thedivision block to pass downwardly vtherethrough at the proper time intothe press chamber at a point just ahead of the for-v ward edge of thefeed opening which carries division block Ill is normally supported by.aA-pair of rods Ill extendthe compressing move- Thus operating'rod |3|which is reciprocated continuously is ineffective to withdraw pins I9forwardly `and toi'thereby drop the division block ||5 onto. plunger 30except when wheel has madera complete revolution corresponding to thelength ofthe bale and has' tripped arm |2|` upwardly, allowing rod |3|to withdraw Ythe slide rods 9 as rod |3| moves forwardly. The an,- gulardisposition of crank arm |32 upon stubshaft 24 is such that operatingrod 3| releases a division block ||5 downwardly upon plunger 30 onlywhen the plunger 30 is forward of the opening H8, thus preventing theplunger 30 from' striking a division block and causing damage. Upon theretraction of plunger 30 the block ||5 is dropped' in front thereof.Even though pin ||4 trips arm |2| at any other'tirne than when plunger30 is forward of the opening ||8, the

operating interconnection is suchthat rod |3| would be moving rearwardlyand thus would be tending to pull arm |25 rearwardly towards open'- ing||0, andthus tending to push the slide rods ||0 rather than withdrawthem from'the trough H6.

In order to hold the compressed charges of hay, 'or the division block||5 from coming rearwardly as plunger 30'is retracted, springpressedhook arms |42 are provided on the top and bottom of `thepress'chamber, the upper pair of hook members being formed so as tosurround the division block opening ||0, as indicated in Figure 2.

Preferably, spring pressed hook members |43 are also provided oppositehook members |42 and upon the sides of the press (Figure 3) Theautomatic block dropper described herein is rendered completelysuccessful due to the fact that the bale chamber is cleaned after eachstroke by reason ofthe operation of the knives 91 and 98 described'above so that the block has a free space into which to go and may bedropped upon any retraction stroke of the plung- .suitable manner fromer 30. Thus it is not necessary to run the press two or three idlestrokes without feeding material through it, in order to get thedivision block in place. With prior balers, it was necessary to stop themachine, declutch the feeder and run the press plunger several idlestrokes.'

Figure 1 also illustrates the running board construction upon which theoperators of the press who insert and tie the baling wires may stand.These running boards |41 are supported in vany the machine and extendalongside the compression portion of thev baling press.

Figure 1 also illustrates the adjustable mechanism |48 disposed on eachside of the open end of the baling chamber and adapted to. constrictthis end of the baling chamber so as to retain the bale therewithin toform an abutment against which a succeeding bale may be pressed. Thistoggle mechanism comprises arms |49 connected to the top and bottom ofthe press chamber and to an internally threaded member |50 within whichis disposed a screw threaded adjusting rod |5|. Thus as rod |5| isscrewed inwardly, it forces the sides of the press inwardly and thepressure of the bale pulls the top and bottom I of the press inwardly,thereby constricting the opening on all four sides.

General to the chamber simultaneously with the compressing step.

sired for disengaging the drive to the bevel gears 95 and 96 driving thefeeding attachment, namely shafts 68 and 62.

It will be understood that plunger may be cutaway as at |55 (Figure 3)to permit it tol pass by hook members |42 and |43.

In Figure 5 there is portrayed an improved and` preferred form of balingchamber which is narrowed at the point |56 which is located immediatelyafter the point where the division block .ing conditions and uses and asfall within the terms or the spirit of the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new anddesire. to secure vby Letters Patent is: I

1. A method of baling which. comprises the steps, of picking up materialfrom the ground by means of a mechanism operated at a substantiallyconstant rate to continuously forward material to a feeding mechanism,of feeding the material toward a compression chamber at a greater ratewhen the chamber is open than.

when it is closed, and of compacting the charges so fed in thecompression chamber.

2. A method of baling which comprises the steps, of continuously pickingup material from the ground and loading same upon a platform, ofcontinuously advancing4 material along the platform toward a compressionchamber, of increasing the rate of advancement to condense the materialwhile feeding the same into the compression chamber, of compressing thecondensed charges as fed into the chamber, and of shearing oil' eachcharge at the entrance 'point 3. A method of baling which comprisescontinuously advancing material to a compression chamber and ofincreasing the rate of advancement of the material to the compressionchamber prior to compressing the material fed into the compressionchamber.

4. A method of baling which comprises the steps, of continuouslyadvancing material toward the feed opening of a compression chamber, ofperiodically opening the feed opening, and of increasing the rate atwhich the material is advanced toward the chamber when the feed openingis open. l

5. A method of baling which comprises the steps of continuouslyadvancing material toward the feed opening of a compression chamber, ofperiodically opening the feed opening and retracting the compressionplunger operating in the compression chamber, and of increasing the rateat whichthe material is advanced to the chamber when the feed opening isopen and the plunger is retracted. y

6. A method of baling which comprises the steps of continuouslyadvancing material toward the feed opening of a compression chamber, ofperiodically opening the feed opening and retracting the -compressionplunger operating in the compression chamber, of increasing the rate atwhich the material is advanced to the chamber when the feed opening isopen and the plunger is retracted, and of reducing the rateat which thematerial is advanced to the chamber' when the plunger is on acompression stroke.

7. A method of baling which comprises the steps, of continuously pickingup material from the ground by means of a mechanism operated at asubstantially constant rate to continuously forward material upon aplatform, of continuously moving material forward on the platform towardthe side of a. compression chamber, of increasing the rateat whichmaterial is fed into the chamber when the chamber is open, of compactingthe charge fed within the chamber by means of the feeding mechanism, andof shearing off each charge at the entrance point to the chambersubsequent to the compacting step.

8. A method of baling which comprises the steps,` of continuouslyfeeding material to a compression chamber in regular cycles, each. cyclehaving a period of small volume feed and a period of large volume feed,of advancing the large volume of material toward the compression chamberat a greater rate than the 'small volume to condense the large volume ofmaterial within the compression chamber, and of compressing thecondensed charge fed into the chamber by means of the plunger operatedtherein.

9. A method of baling which comprises the steps of continuously feedingmaterial to the feed opening of a compression chamber, of increasing thevolume of material lfed when the feed opening is open, of condensing thematerial while being fed in greater volume into the compressing chamber,of compressing the condensed charge fed into the chamber, and ofshearing of! each charge at the entrance point to the chamber during'thecompressing step.

EROS V. BARKER.

